Mediterranean Sea. My father had taken her on a cruise when they were first married. Her face looked so serene and happy as her long black hair swept around her face. It was my favorite picture my Dad had of her, and I often re-sketched the picture using different artistic techniques. The charcoal version I did of the picture was my favorite sketch, and I had shown Josh the picture a million times when we were young. When I lost it, it didn’t even occur to me it had been taken. I had a lot of other sketches of that photo, but the charcoal one I did, had always been my favorite and held the most sentimental value to me. At the time I assumed I just misplaced it.
“Josh. I can’t believe you have this, and kept it all those years. I’m not angry, I’m, I’m, exactly where I should be right now.” And that was it for me. The sweet incredulous look on his face gave me all the confidence I needed to take the next step.
“Do you love me Josh?”
He looked stunned, and stepped back a bit. “Of course I do. You know that.”
I walked up to him, closing the space he had created. “No, I don’t mean as my best friend.”
His eyes grew dark as he realized what I asked him. “Norah, I…”
“Tell me.” My eyes lit up as I looked deep into his own, pleading with him not to be scared.
“Look, there are things I have to tell you first.” Josh looked so surprised and withdrew from me, not sure what to do.
I went over to the table on the terrace and placed the framed sketch down gently, and returned to standing in front of Josh. “I’m sick of all our talking. I just want to know, do you love me Josh, in the way a man loves a woman with every kind of emotion and desire imaginable? ”
Josh scanned my face, and saw I was being serious. He saw how I needed to know, right there and then. He stepped forward and looked me right in the eyes. “You know I do.”
“Say it Josh. Say it like you really mean it. I need to hear it, again.”
Josh inhaled sharply. I don’t think he knew where this had come from or where it was going, but he reached for me now, and drew my half-naked body into him, wrapping both arms around me and leaning into my face, so his forehead was resting on mine, his breath close to my mouth.
“Lenorah, it has always, and will always be you. I love you like nothing else I have ever known. You are the reason I believe I can be happy in this world after I lost everything. When I dream of the future, I only see you.”
I breathed out with loving satisfaction, then pulled out of his embrace and stepped away. Josh looked at me as if he expected me to turn and walk away from him yet again, only this time I didn’t.
I stood back, slowly undid the robe I was wrapped in and dropped it to the floor.
“I love you too Joshua.” I started walking towards him. “And I want you. Do you want me too?”
Josh looked like his mind had left his body. He was speechless. Frozen. Unable to move from where he stood.
“Josh,” I whispered.
He breathed again, regaining some rational thought, his eyes everywhere on my naked body. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this moment Norah?”
“As long as I have.”
His eyes met mine.
“I want you Josh, now.”
Josh immediately stepped forward to take hold of my body, but stopped just before he was about to touch me. “Norah, understand that I won’t be able to go back from this. Once we cross this line, there will never be anyone else for me. You are the last person I ever want to be with.”
I reached for him now. “Josh, I wouldn’t be doing this right now if I didn’t want you forever.”
“Forever?” His eyes searched mine for confirmation. I nodded. His arms went around my body. “Oh, Norah.”
Josh’s lips were on mine as we held each other in a passionate embrace. We had found a connection. Our hearts opened, our lust aligned, every cell in my body was exploding and rippling as my naked body was being held by the one person who had always genuinely looked at me with pure acceptance of who I was, wholly and solely. Finally